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Carry The Load Step-Off Event at ABAC April 26-27

April 18, 2017

For the fourth consecutive year, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College will host a Carry The Load Step-Off event beginning at 5 p.m. on April 26 and continuing for 24 hours. Members of the community are invited to participate in the event which involves a constant two and one-half mile relay through the campus.

The Carry The Load Step-Off culminates with a send-off for the eight ABAC students who will participate in the National Carry The Load Relay in a ceremony in front of Herring Hall on April 27 at 5 p.m.

The goal of Carry The Load is to restore the true meaning of Memorial Day by connecting Americans to the sacrifices of our military, law enforcement, firefighters, and rescue personnel. Carry The Load was established in 2011 by Clint Bruce and Stephen Holley, former members of the United States Navy’s Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) teams.

The Step-Off serves as a prelude to the National Carry The Load Relay which begins in West Point, N.Y., on May 1 and ends in Dallas, Texas on Memorial Day.

In its inaugural year on the ABAC campus, ABAC sent seven students to participate in the National Relay. In 2015, ABAC had 700 participants at the Step-Off event on campus, and seven ABAC students then walked or pedaled a bicycle the 2,000-mile trek from West Point to Dallas for the National Relay. In 2016, 800 participants were involved in the ABAC Step-Off event, and 11 ABAC students took part in the National Relay.

ABAC students participating in the National Relay this year are Hunter Gainous, a diversified agriculture major from Brunswick; Shannon Kehoe, an agricultural communications major from Myakka City, Fla.; Ginger Orton, an agricultural communications major from Tifton; Landon Rowe, a rural studies–writing and communication major from Ocilla; Mitchel Sheffield, a biology major from Donalsonville; Dustin Thomas, a natural resource management major from Plainville; Collin Vickers, a rural studies–writing and communications major from Alapaha; and Madison Woodson, a business and economic development major from Jesup.